Gas-generator.



C. D. BMRD.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION fIL-ED`1UNE 30. |911.

Patented sept. 3,

UNITED sTATEs PATENT voEEicE.

CLARENCE D. EAIED, 0E ALEXANDRIA, TENNESSEE, AssrGNoE oE ONE-FOURTH To I. A. EATON, GF ALEXANDRIA, TENNESSEE.

GAS-GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 3, 1918,

Appiicationiieaiune 3o, 1917. seriai'No. 177,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE D. BAIRD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at This invention relates to acetylene gasl generators, and has as one of its objects to provide a generator which may be employed either above ground` or in a pit and which in either instance will prove highly lefficient in the generationof the gas, being entirely'V automatic in its operation, not liableto become clogged or feed an excess amount of carbid to the generating chamber, or for other reasons require frequent attention.

The invention has as one of its aims to` provide in a generator of this class afnovel mechanism for feeding carbid from the carbid hopper or containei1 into the generating chamber in suitable quantities, which mechanisni will not be liable to become clogged or permit the feeding of anveXcess amount of the carbid and will yetbe so constructed that the feed valve will not have imposed upon it the entire weight of the carbid within the hopper which would be likelyto in'-y terfere with the proper closingof the Valve or cause accidental opening of the valve, due to the weight imposed thereon.

Another aim of the invention is to' providein connection with the valve, means for' vibrating orjarring the same'both when it is moved to open vposition and when it is moved to closed position so'tliat in the rst instance tlie carbid above the valve .Will be loosened and causel to drop into the generating chamber and in the second instance any particles of the carbid which might otherwise lodge between the valve and its seat, will be jarred loose, thereby providing for a gas-tight closing ofthe said valve against its seat. Incidentally, the invention aims to so construct the vibrating means'k that the same may be yadjusted so as to regulate the degree of vibration to which the valve will be subjected in its movements to and from its seat.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a generator embodying the present invention.

j Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the device provided for vibrating or jarring the valve which controls the delivery of carbidfrom the Vcarbid hop.-y

perV into the generating chamber.

The generating apparatus embodying rthe4 present invention includes aV generating chamberrwhich isV preferably cylindrical in form and which is indicatedby vthe `numeral 1,'which chamber has a closed bottom 2 and a top 3, At or near its lower end the gen.-y

eratingcha'niber-is provided with a nipple4 which projects laterally therefromV and through-which the residuey from the carbid is to be removed. This nipple isfprovided at'its' outer' end with a cap 5 removably threaded thereto and extending from this capl and through vthe nipple, and' into l the lower end of the said-chamber isa rod'G which at its inner end 'isfc'onnected by a swivel joint 7 to anagitator or scraper S including an upstanding wal1'9 which confrom the nipple 1, the agitator or scraper maybe Vpulled'b'ack and forth 'in thedirec-y tionofk theinner end of thesaid nipplek through the medium of thefrod 6-soasA to cause the 'accumulated residue from they car-- bidto' pass through the nipple and after-the residue has been removed, or at least the greater portion thereof, the rod 8' maybe thrust inwardly tothe position shownin Fig. 1 andthe cap 5 threaded onto the outer end of the saidnipple'so asto close the same in a gas-tight manner. In order that water may be readily introduced into the generating chamber 1, the saine is provided near its upper endwith a filling pipe 12 whicheX-v tends upwardly beside the said chamber and' is normally closed by a cap 13. n

The topy 3 of thegenerating chambervisv provided centrally with an opening lilfinto forms substantially` to the contour ofthe in-V serve to hold the carbid hopper in the posi-` tion shown in Fig. 1, a` suitablepacking gasket 21 being interposed between the liange 19 and the said top 3' so as to prevent the escape of generated gas through the opening 14. As stated, the bottoni 18 .of the carbid hopper is conical and the lower end thereof is open so as to provide Jfor the discharge of carbid from said hopper into the said generating chamber, the wall. ofthe opening constituting. a seat 22 for the valve which controls such discharge. Arranged within the carbid hopper 16 is a cage 23 the lower edge of the-wall of which is secured upon the bottoni `18 of the said hopper and surrounds but is located above the valve seatV 22. The said cage 23 has a number-of openings 24 in its wall through which the particles of carbid may enter prior to discharge Y past the valve seat 22 and into thegenerating chamber. Extending upwardly-from .the cage' 23 is a tubular guide 25 which is secured through an opening 26 in the top 1S of the said hopper and which .isprovided at its upper end with `a stuffing-box 27. The head of the valve OrcOntrOlling the discharge of carbid from the hopper yinto the generating chamber is of conical tormand is indicated by the numeral 28 and Aextending upwardly from the minor end of the head is a valve'stem v29 which slidably lits within the tubular guide 25 and through the stuliing-box 27. The operation of the valve` and the devices for automatically causing said operation will presently be fully `eX- plained. It will be understood that due to the provision of the cage 23, a suitable quantity of carbid may enter said cage in Yposi'- tion 4to be discharged when the valve is opened, but .that the cage constitutes a means for relieving the valve of the entire Weight ofthe carbid in the hopper, thus providing against accidental opening .of the valve which would` be likely to occur ily such weight were imposedthereon, and also providing for .a more ready closing of the valve.

In order to vibrate or jar'the valve, vboth when it is moved to closed position and to open position, and thereby respectively provide for loosening the valve, and prevent the lodging of particles'ol' carbid between the valve and its seat,

ofthe carbid'resting upon there is provided means which will now be described. Ears 30 are provided upon the bottoni ol the valve 2S and pivotally mounted between these ears is a tubular rocker 31 having relatively angularly extending arms 32 and Normally the arm 32 rests against the under side ot the valve head 23 and the arm 33 extends downwardly and laterally at an angle beyond the pivot 30. The arm 32 is closed at its outer end, as at 3-l, and the arm 33 is closed at its outer end and weighted, as at Arranged within the rocker for free movement endwisc thereof is a spherical weight or ball 36 which normally rests in the closed outer end of the arm l33, but mayroll into the arm 32 under conditions to' be presently explained. The arm 33 is designed to coact with an abutment member comprising an attaching plate 37 having a slot 38 receiving threaded studs 39 upon the inner side of the neck 15, the attaching plate being disposed against the said inner side of the neck and mits y10 beingthreaded on to the said studs whereby to secure the attaching plate 37 in place, it

being understood that the same may be a.d'

justed vertically so as to adjust the position of an abutment linger i11 which projects from the lower edge of the said plate below the arni 33. Vhile `the under side of the valve head 2S occupies a parallel plane, the lower side of the arm 32 of the tubular rocker is inclined downwardly in the direction of' the pivot 30 or the arm as a whole may be so inclined by slightly lowering the pivot from the position, shown in Fig. 2 ot' thegdr-awings so that in such case the outer endfonly of 4the Aarm would strike against the'under side of the valve head. As shown in the drawings, when the valve 28 is closed, the tubular rocker will occupy such position that its arm 33 will extend above the abutment linger 41. However, upondownward movement of 4the said head to open position the arm 33 will be brought into engagement with the abutment finger 41 and the rocker will be tilted so that the weight ball 36 will roll within thc-arm 33 and into the arm 32 until it rests at the closed end thereof. Asthe ball strikes the closed end oit' the said arm 32 the impactwill serve to vi,- brate or jar the valve 2S so as to loosen or dislodge the .car-bid which is within the cage 23 and resting upon the said valve thereby insuring of its discharge into the generating chamber. The weight of the arm including vits weighted end 35 is slightly greater than the combined weight of the arm .32 and the ball 36 so that when the valve 2S` is moved upwardly toward closed position the outer end the arm 33 will swing ydownwardly and the arm will be swung upwardly to its normal position whereupon the ball 36 will return to the position shown-in Fig. 2 and las it strikes the weighted end 35 of the armBS, vibration or jar. will again be imparted to the valve head 28 serving to dislodge any particles of carbid which might otherwise interfere with closing of the valve. Of course,

the greater the angle to which the rocker is tilted, the greater-will be the force of impact of the weight ball 36 against the ends of the arm comprising the said rocker and this may be regulated by adjusting the abutment finger 41 in an up or down direction. It will be observed that the pivot 30 for the tubular rocker is located at oneside of the bottom of the valve head 28 and, conse-v quently, maximum vibration or jar will be` imparted to the valve upon relatively slight movement of the said rocker which,'how

ever, would not be ythe case if the pivot were located at the vertical axis of the said-valve head. The carbid hopper 16 is provided in its top with a filling opening 42 normally closed by a plug 48 and in order thatrthe quantity and conditionof the carbid within the hopper may be readily determined,.the wall 17 of the said hopper is provided with one or several transparent panes 44.

The gas generated -withinthe chamber 1y is led therefrom into a discharge chamber which has 1 spaced cylindrical walls 45 and 46, respectively, forming an annular chamber closed at itsv top in a gas-tightmanner by a vconnecting wall 47. The wall 45 at itsy bottom is supported uponva bottom or base 48 and the wall 46 issupported by a bottom 49 in turn supported upon brackets 50 upon the 4bottom 48. Conductor pipes 51 lead from the top of the generating chamber 1 to the storage chamberthrough the top 47 thereof andit is preferable that two of these pipes be employed and thateach be provided with a cut-orf valve 52 whereby the supply of gas may be regulated or entirely "cut otl' and also whereby a maximum volume of gas may pass from the generating chamber to the storage .chamber without fthe employment of an extra large single pipe.

The numeral 48` indicates a gas bell which is arranged to rise and fall x within the compartment defined by the wall 46 and its bottomy 49, this compartment containf ing a suitable volume of water inv which the lower open end of` the gas bellv is immersed. The gas generated within the Ychamber 1 passes through the pipesl into the storage "chamber from which it passes upwardly through aL pipe58 into the gasbell 48, the pipe opening through the bottom 49 and extending upwardly from said bottom and opening at its upper end into the gas bell abovey the maximum water level therein. -From the'bell 48, gas passes downwardly through a pipeV 54 whichy also opens ,at its upper end into the gas bell above the waterV level, andthis pipe yleads yfrom the bottomI 49 and thence laterally, v.as 'atf5'5,.between this bottom and the bottom 48 a'fterfwhich it extends upwardly, as at'56, within the annular storage chamber and through the H wall 45 where it connects with a supply main 57', theV flow through the main being con-` trolled by a cutnor valve 58.v w f .A supporting arm 59 extends laterally romvthe top 18 of thecarbid hopper above .the storage chamber: and. mounted thereon are pulleys 60 and 61. A cable 62 is trained over these pulleys and connected at one end to a swivel 63 upon the top of the gas bell 48. 'Afterpassing.over-thepulleyx60, the I l cableisfled downwardly through an opening 64 in. the said supporting armf59 and is connected at4 its other end to a counter#` weight 65 which balances or nearly balances the weight of the bell 48. The supporting v3;

arm 59 is held upon-the top 18 ofthe carbidV hopper by means of the kbase 6601z an upstanding bracket 67 upon which issupported' forV oscillatory movement,-La rocking .arm 68.

Pivotally connected to one'end of thisarm .is a rod 69 which extends downwardly throughv the opening 64 and which is provided at vits lower end with a horizontally disposed eye f jO through which the cable 62 passes, the

cable being provided with an abutment adt justably clamped thereonjand-said abutment being indicatedby the numeral 7l and `being located below the said eye.j A weight 72 is fixedV upon therod 69fand counter-balances or substantially counter-balances. the weight of the valve 28. The upper end or the valve :stemj 29 isprovided with a transf Y verse pin 73 which at its ends work in slots` 74 formed in vtheaspaced portions of the arm 68, the Vsaid Aarm being for1ned..from

a `suitable` length of bar metal bent upony itself mid-way of "its ends vrto providefthe said spaced portions.

From theforegolng 1t will beunderstood that as the gas is consumed and its generation in the chamber 1 .slackens the bell 48 will lower carrying with it the stretch of the cable 62 which-is connected with the bell.

As a result, the abutment 71 will engage the 'A invention,

eye'70 and whereupon the rod69 will be f means independent of the valve moving means for automatically vibrating the valve upon its movement.v v

3. In a generator of the class described, a genera-ting chamber, a carbid hopper arranged `to discharge into the said'chamber,

a valve for controlling the discharge, meansfor moving the valve, and impact means independent of the valve moving means carried by the valve automatically operable to vibrate the valve upon its movement.

el. In a `generator of the class described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper .far-k ranged to discharge into thesaid chamber, a valve for controlling the discharge, means for moving the val-ve to open and closed `positions, and impact means independent of the valve moving means for vibrating the valve upon its movement to open position. 5. In a generator of the class described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged to discharge into the saidchamber, a valve `for controlling the discharge, means for moving the valve to open and-closed positions, land impact means independent yoi' the valve moving means for vibrating the valve upon its movement to closed position.

6. In a generator-of `the class described,a generating chamber, ay carbid hopper arranged todischarge into theV said chamber, a valve for `controlling the discharge, means for moving the valve to open and closed positions, and impact means independent of the valve moving means for vibrating the valve yupon its movement toopen and closed positions.

7. In a generator vof the class described,a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged to 'discharge into the said chamber,

a valve for controlling the discharge, means for moving the yvalve to open yand closed positions, avilorating member independent of they valve moving means pivotally' mounted upon the valve, and means ar-v ranged i'or coacti'on with the said vibrating member where-byy when the valve is moved toward one position the said vibrating member will be moved upon itspivot and when the valve is moved toward the other position the said vibrating member 4will be released whereby to vibrate the valve upon the return of the said member to its normal position.

S; In a generator of the Vclass described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged to discharge into the said chamber, a valve for controlli-ng the discharge, means for moving the -valve to open and closed positions, a vibrating member independent of .the valve moving means pivotally mounted upon .the valve, and means arranged for coaction with the said vibrating memberA whereby avhen lthe valve is moved toward ,open position `the said vibrating member will be moved upon its .pivot and when the valve is moved toward vclosed position the'said vibrating member will be released whereby to vibrate the valve upon the return of the said member to its normal position.

9. In a generator of the class described, a generating chamber, a .carbid hopper arranged to discharge into the said chamber, a valve for controlling the discharge, means for moving the valve, a rocker pivotally mounted between its ends upon the said valve and at one side ,of its pivot-.resting against a portion of :the valve and at the other side vof its pivot extending beyond .the valve, a weight movable longitudinally .of the said .rocker member, the Arocker member having its end portions lprovided with labutments lagainst .which fthe weight is to strike to vibrate the valve, and means for tilting the said rocker member in the movement of the valve whereby to cause movement of the said weight.

`l0. In a .generator of the class described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged -to discharge .into the said chamber, a valve for controlling the discharge, means for fm'oving the valve, a rocker pivotally mounted between its ends upon the said valve and at one -side of its pivot resting against a portion of the valve and at the other side of its pivot extending beyond the valve, a Aweight movable longitudinally of the said rocker member, the rocker member having its `end portions provided with abutments against which the weight is :to strike to' vibrate the valve, and an adjustable abutment in the path of -movement of lthe projecting end of the said rocker member whereby upon movement of the valve the rocker member will be tilted to cause movement ofthe said weight.

1l. lIn a generator of the class described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged to discharge into the said chamber, a valve for controlling the discharge, means for moving lthe valve, fa rocker pivotally mounted between its ends upon the said valve and at lone side of its pivot yresting against a portion of the valve iand, at the other side of its pivot extending beyond the valve, a Weight movable longitudinally of the said rockermemb'en the rocker meml ber having its end portions provided with abntments against which the weight is to strike to vibrate the valve, and means for tilting the said rocker member in the movement of the valve whereby to cause movement of the said Weight, the projecting end of the rocker being of a weight at least equal to the combined weight of the valveengaging end of the said rocker plus the weight of the movable weight.

12. In a generator `of the class described, a generating chamber, a carbid hopper arranged to discharge into the said chamber, a valve for controlling the discharge, means Jfor moving the valve, a rocker pivotally mounted between its end upon the said valve and at one side of its pivot resting against a portion of the valve and at the other side of its pivot extending beyond the valve, a weight movable longitudinally of the said rocker member, the rocker member 'having its end portions provided with abutments against which the weight is to strike toy vibrate the valve, and means for tilting said rocker member in the movement of the valve whereby to canse movement of the said weight, the said supporting portion of the valve-engagin g end of the rocker member being inclined downwardly toward the pivot for the said member.

In testimony whereof I aliX my signature.

CLARENCE D. BAIRD. [11. s]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

